The present invention relates, generally, to encapsulated vehicle window assemblies, in which a seal member surrounds at least a portion of the peripheral region of a transparent glass substrate. In particular, the invention relates to such a seal member having interlocking portions, to form a molded-on seal.
Encapsulated window assemblies having various seals are described in the patent literature, for example:
DE 9418090 describes a first section of a profile of edging for a sliding or lifting roof of a motor vehicle consists of plastics or an elastomer with a hardness of 40 to 90 Shore A. The roof edging is injection molded around the edge of the roof and glued to it. The first profile section has a projection which buttons into an aperture of a second profile section. The outside of the second profile section is formed by soft foamed plastics or elastomer. The profile has a slide coating on its outer surface. The projection has the same Shore A hardness as the first profile section, or is manufactured from a material of comparable hardness.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,066 describes an edge gap sealing arrangement for the rigid lid of an automobile sliding roof, which sealing arrangement is molded onto the peripheral edge of the lid to form a frame body. The frame body has what is termed an initially free edge strip extending outwards, which is bent over to form a hollow chamber. The edge strip is arranged to be adjustably secured, preferably from below, to the frame body, with its outer edge adjacent to the peripheral edge of the lid. The seal so formed is said to be adjustable as to its cross-section and the width of the hollow chamber, so that it is adapted to dimensional variations and irregularities in the edge gap. Preferably at the outer edge of the edge strip, an inner surface portion is provided, which after the edge strip has been bent to form the hollow chamber, it is adjustably secured to a counter-surface of the frame body by means of a clamping profile strip. The clamping profile strip engages into a clamping groove of the frame body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,150 describes a cover unit for closing the roof opening in the solid skin of a motor vehicle roof having a cover element composed of an at least partially transparent plastic and a reinforcing frame, for example, made of a metal, which extends along the side edge of the cover element and which bears a seal which surrounds the side edge of the cover element for contact against an essentially vertically running roof-mounted sealing surface. The reinforcing frame is cemented, using a flexible cement, to the cover element such that the cover element can move, in the transverse direction relative to the reinforcing frame, in order to enable thermal expansion of the cover element. The seal has a roof sealing area contacting a roof-mounted sealing surface, which is said to be substantially unaffected by thermal expansion of the cover element, and the seal has a cover sealing area for compensation of thermal expansion of the cover element.